Speedometer.



- in motion.

which may engage I WW r wqr mri m st-st rs" UN ITEB ii i H H. IEANSON, OF ELYRIA, Q 1, ELSSI 'NQE TO TI E GARFORD IVIANUFAGTURIN G COMPANY, #31

SPEEDGMEETEB.

1 12'? "Z8 Boecificetio; of Letters Patent Q 5 which are especially iidupt d for e upon moving; vehicles, sue} as eutoinoblies. mo-

tor trucks and the iii;

The invention reietes to 1st speedometer-s which employ cen operated meansitor driving the s eating means.

I am aware thut. before my invention balls or similar devices freely moving in channel in a rotating ii -ember have lose employee in the construction of s'peerlon'ieters, out in such prior devices, so for as E am aware, the balls have either been oer fted to mo. up and down in the charm iii one another, which permits them. to be about when the machine is rough roads, thus causing tit indicating means to vibrate P uncertain and inaccurate d, e slender arms have been eiutilo l to the balls. Such arms beii'ig sooobecome Worn may and tlestro We em curacy of the instrument.

By my invention, I eoi'oio" hells lar devices iii the cl member, which are r motion in a urudioi (iirec. means being provided i vibrating up and down u also prefer nection With them way or points upon its SUP the wearing occorrn point. By this comhii' prove the previous forms this type in accuracy, no once. and-"inspires such so. cessful and; ors'ticsh Another object of my iuveotio" 1' I .duce a speedometer which c:

Serial Trio. 725,42?

iently and cheaply made from standard niateriels, and with standard tools, enabling me to furnish the puhiic with a better speedor etcr cost than those of this type iit o to produced.

Another object of my invention is to proe a speedometer of this type, in which the centrifugclly operated means are prorooted from (i t, dust and moisture, and from other oreigzn matter Which tend to de stroy the st ioiency and accuracy of the instruinent.

"Chile objects 0? my invention and the inve tlor seii will better understood from 2L detailed description of a particular e111- hodiieent my invention, vWhere:

Fig re 1 a section through the casing, showing ports of the instrument in elevation. I 2 is a section through the so tory member. Fig. 3 a plan View of the rotor member. at is a plan View of the ports of the motion transmitting means Fig; 5 is is, elevation of parts oi the up peretus shown iii Fig.

'i fez-ring new to the drawing and to the ulsr eiubod n of my invention show at 6 o casing-haviiul Slu walls 8. A plate 1' suitable material 9 is .t of the casing, and s.

so]; of the plate 9. The

show rotary member, such as a.

=. is adopted to be driven through to iioeciis, the object or zippemeusured. As av root-ice with automo- 381' is connected by a lo]: operated by a gear 1 touches of one of the ii'icmbcr 11 rotates in a.

e will he described .eurings 13 may be pro and being substantially ninety degrees apart. The bottoms of these channels, and in fact the channels 6 may be perpendicular to the axis about which the member 14: 1o tates. I prefer to make the bottoms of the channels closed and the tops open. '1 he centrifugally operated means are here shown as balls 16 mounted in these channels to rotate freel y therein and to more in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft 11 or radially in the channels. 1 provide means for restricting the longitudinal movement of the balls to this one direction, preventing their vibrating up and down in response to the vibration of the vehicle, which, can readily beseen, .would cause the speed indicating means to vibrate and to give confusing and inaccurate readings. In the form shown, this restraining means consists of shoulders 17 upon the member 14, which part way close the top of the ball containing channels; otherwise these channels are open, as shown at 20; permitting porlions of the ball, as shown at 21, to protrude from the channels. Engaging these protruding parts, there ,.is' a member 22, which. is moved rectilineal ly asthe member rotates. As will be seen, when the member 14 rotates, the balls 16 will-be carried outward by centrifugal force and the protruding parts, engaging the part 22 will elevate it in some way proportional to the speed of rotation of the member ll. The member 22 is an annular member, that is, one which engages the protruding parts 01 the balls at dill'erent surfaces at different times, prevent-- ing the wearing away of the surface at any one place and the consequent destructiiin of the accuracy of the instrument. This will be apparent when it is explained that the accuracy of the instrument depends upon the curvature of the surface of the annular member 22 engaging the balls and of its retaining the curvature riginally given to it. I here show this annular member as a cup or saucer shaped member, having a predetermined curve given to its under surface. This curve is determined experimentally, and is shown in the figure. I have found no mathematical equation which describes the curve, and have claimed it as illustrated in the drawing. The sides of the annular member 22 are extended downward. pref-- erably beyond the bottom of the main part .of the member '14, protecting the balls and the channels from dirt, moisture and other foreign matter, which enters the speedometer casing, and did it alight upon these parts, would, not only tend to impede their operation. but would in time destroy the accuracy of the instrument.

I provide mean for guiding the member in the movemen imparted to it by the balls, such means being here shown as a pin 525 connected to the m niber profecting into a slot 26 in the member 14. A. second pin 27 is mounted upon the top of no member, constituting a bearing member. (jlt course, any suitable bearing mcuibcr may" lie employed here. This communicates the motion of the member 2'3 to motion transmit ting means which transmits the motion to the speed indicating means. In the term illustrated, the motion transmitting means consists of a bell cranl; lever 28, one arm. 29 of which engages the bearing member 27. The bell crank lever pivoted to the casing at 30 in some suitable way, an. the other. arm 31 is employed to transmit the motion to the speed indicating means through some suitable mechanism, such as a rack 39 and a pinion 213, which then com municates the motion to the speed imlieatiug means. In the form shown, the pinion 33 is mounted upon a shaft f ll, which may he journaled in the frame, and which carries one of the members of the speed indicating means. The speed indiating means indicates accurately or approximately ace rately the speed at which the apparatus running in miles per hour, or in some other suitable units of space in suitable units of time, I. here show a rotary member carrying; a. scale 36 and mounted upon the shaft 3; and. rotating therewith. An opening 37 is provided in the plate 10 through which the scale may be seen. A marker may be employed upon the edge of: this opening, if desired, to 1nd1cate the exact speed. Some suitable means is employed for holding the 100 bell crank lever in position against the hearing surface .29. I here employ a spring 40 connectedat one end to a lug 41 on the bell crank lever, and at the other end, as shown at l-E! to the frame. Suitable means, such as a spring 43 is also employed for holding the rack in position against the pinion. This may be connected at one end to an arm ll of the bell crank lever.

1 will now describe the operation of the device illustrated in the drawinq.

When the shaft 11 is rotated, the member 14 will be likewise rotated, and the balls 16 will move outward. exerting a pressure upon the member in proportion to the speed of the member 1.4. The pressure exerted upon the member 2-2 will raise the same, and the motion thereof will be communicated to the scale through the bell crank layer, the rack and pinion in a way which wilhbe apparent to those skilled in the art. When the speed is decreased, the force of gray ity acting upon the member .22 or the spring 40, or both of them, will move the balls backward in their channels. and the scale will be returned to zero indicating position.

it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous and extensive departures from the form and details of tl12-8fl1l00fllment here illustrated may be made without 130 7 moved outwardly in their ceptaclei hmrin'gg an: emal opening 1n the departing. from the spirit of this invention, this particular embodimeni. being; illus' qrelcd solelyffor the purpose of explaining one of the forrns'of the invention.

1; In a speedometer, the combination-With a. rotary shaft adept'ed to be rotated by the objectzthespeediofi which to be measured, axreceptaclecerriedby said member and re tatable therewith, said receptacle having a plurality of radial. ball carryingchannels cut therein, said channels being perpendicular to said: shaft, substantially ninety de grace spent: and'opem at the ends, w plurality of bells mounted to rotate and to moverlongitudinally in said channels, the air-is o fzsaidbells being: mlrestrained; and the top's projecting beyond. the channels and outside the receptacle, lips on the upper wallsofi the channels to prevent rho bolls risingjkthereims cup-shaped. member mose oven said receptacle and covering the sides-=01? the same, and-the top zinciends of she resting against the under side oi the cup-"shaped member, said cup-shaped ni .1 ber'being'moved upwardly es the bells are channels, ssir.

thereof and a pinon the cup-shsped in said opening guiding said er, 1-. fiery scale and: s-bell crank level, pinion for transmitting motion fro cup-shapedmember toseid scale 8 3 a rotary member adapted 22 111 9; speedometer, the combineiion of a rotary member, adapted to beoperated by the apparatus, the speed of'wnich is lobe measured, said member a plurality of radially being provided with extending perpendicular to the axis upon which rotary member rotates, the sides of s "in. channels being provided with inwardly en tending projections forming slots, balls in said channels, the icops oi which pi'og'ecs through said slots, said projections PIGYEHF ing the balls from risingin said channels, speed indicating device and means to irons mit themotion of said beils'zfi'o said device.

3. In a speedometer, the combination of rotary; member adapted to be operated h the apparatus, the speed of which is to be measured, said member being provided with a plurality of radially'extending channels perpendicular to the axis upon which the rotary member rotates, balls in said cliennel's, the to s-ofwhiob projec'l; above side walls 0 the channels, means to prevens the balls rising in said channels, "a shapedmember resting against pr, ing ball tops and adapted to be sieve the balls move outward, a speed device and means to communicate motion of the cup-shaped member to the speed indicatin device.

4. n a speedometer, lab

I :IOHZIV oer adapter e speed (if-Which is to be a plurality of radial channels, the bottom of the channels being perpendicular to the axis upon which said neznber rotates, freely moving bells in 1 channels liming their oops projbcting above lie side walls of the run 1 an; C.

c1 els, r, cup-shaped member mounted one lid bells and resting on the tops thereof, cups-b1 member being raised when l c ating member,

nice bear 1 a said oells orn said means.

i r the combination of a i be rotated by the or winch is to be measmember bsvino' a plurality of the illercin, said elmnn ls being perpendicular to the ZlXlS upon which said rofiery membe' rotates, bells mounted in said channels adapted to move therein when said member is rotated, parts of said balls prosruding fi'OR'l said channels, means to prevent the balls rising in said channels, a devicebearing of 'd and respondingin movement to movement of d bells, speed indicating means and to communicate motion from said de'qi-ce to said speed indicating means,

i. a speedometer, the coznbinlition of a rotary inernber adopted to be rotated by apparatus the speed or: which is to be measured, said member lievings plurality of ball can rying channels therein, balls in said channels, means to prevails the bells moving up and down in said channels, an annular memb-"r in. cont 2: said balls an respondin movement to the movement of the peed indicating means and means to catemotion of said annular (o speed indicating means. e speedometer, the combinasion of a rotary member, adapted so be rotated by epoera'hus the speed which isto be measured, means carried by said member ada ted to move i. lien said member relates, mes linear motion. or ss' balls emler being provided with speed indiagainst the protruding parts &

plane, an annular member responding in movement to movements of said movable member, speed indicating means, and means to transmit motion from said annular 1nemher to said speed indicating means. i

9. In a speedometer, the combination of a rotary member adapted to be rotated. by apparatus the speed of which is to be measured, movable means adapted to be moved rectilineally as said rotary member is rotated, means to restrict the movement of said movable means to a plane perpendicu lar to the axis upon which said rotary member rotates, an annular member responding in. movement to the movement of said morable means, speed indicating means and mechanism for transmitting motion from said annular member to said speed indicating means;

10. In a speedometer, the combination of a rotary member having a pluralii y of ball carrying channels therein, balls mounted in said channels to move therein, means to restrict the rectilinear movement of said balls to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotary member, a cup-shaped member engaging said balls and moving in response to movements of said balls, speed indicating means and mechanism to trans mit motion from said cup-shaped member to said speed indicating means.

11.. In a speedometer, the combination of a rotary member having a plurality of radial ball carrying channels therein, said channels being perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said rotary member, balls in said channels adapted to roll along the same, means to restrict the rectilinear moyement of said balls to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said rotary member, a cup-shaped member engaging said balls and adapted to move in. response to movements of the balls along the channels, speed indicating means and mechanism to transmit motion from said cup-shaped member to said speed indicating means.

ill. in a speedometer, the combination of a. rcvoluble member, a plurality of guiding means carried thereby, a plurality of centriiugal members supported by said revoluble member movin in said guiding means, a a reciprocating member having a surface de Jung a single m'nicavity adapted to contact with said centrifugal members and to be moved reetilineally thereby.

13. In a speedometer, the combination of a rev'oluble member, a plurality of guiding means carried thereby, a plurality of centrifugal members supported by said revoluble member and movable in said guiding means and a rectilineally movable member having a surface to contact with said centrifugal members, said surface defining a single concavity substantially symmetrical in dian'ietrical section.

l l. in a speedometer, the combination of a revoluble member, a plurality of guiding means carried thereby, a plurality of con trifugal members supported by said revoluble member and moving in said guiding means and a rectilineally movable member having a surface adapted to contact with said centrifugal members, said surface defining asingle concavity substantially sym metrical in diametrical section and each symmetry-half having a portion thereof curred substantially as shown and described.

115. In speedometer, the combination oi a reroluble member, a plurality of guiding means carried thereby, a cupshape mcin-' her having a surface defining a single concavity, a plurality of centrifugal members supported by said revoluble member and moving in the guiding means thereof, said centrifugal members engaging said-surface of the cup-shaped member and moving the same rectilineally when the revolublc member is rotated.

16. In a speedometer, the combination of a rotatable member and means to rotate the same, a plurality of guidingways in said rotatable member, centrifugally controlled. balls in said ways, a cup-shaped member having an under surface defining a single concavity, said balls engaging said surface and adapted to move said cup-shaped member rectilineally when the rotatable member is rotated, and means to indicate the move ment of said cup-shaped member.

In testimony whereof, I allix mysignature in the presence of two Witnesses.

RAY H. MANSON.

I) V. GRAVES, O Riot-m1, 

